Drinking water services in rural areas in South Africa
South Africa: Drinking water services in rural areas was 760,592 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water services in rural areas in South Africa, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2024, drinking water services in rural areas in South Africa stood at 760,592 people. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is down 14.1% on the previous year and down 62.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in South Africa peaked at 3.83 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 760,592 people, in 2024.
That places South Africa 30th out of 178 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.22 million people | 2.62 million people | 3.83 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.94 million people | 1.38 million people | 2.49 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.01 million people | 760,592 people | 1.26 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 27 Papua New Guinea 887,444 people compare
- 28 Guinea 878,871 people compare
- 29 Yemen 825,460 people compare
- 31 Sierra Leone 707,883 people compare
- 32 Cote d'Ivoire 691,482 people compare
- 33 Bangladesh 628,636 people compare
More environment data for South Africa
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 569.81 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 8.9 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 25.85 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 1.31 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 40 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.1686 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 93.23 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.055 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.1946 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 25.44 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water services in rural areas in South Africa?
- Drinking water services in rural areas in South Africa was 760,592 people in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 3.83 million people in 2000.
- What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 760,592 people in 2024.
- How does South Africa rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
- South Africa ranks 30th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 62.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Drinking water services in rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of people using drinking water directly collected from surface waters.